The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint against Sendit, an anonymous question app popular with younger and Gen Z users. The complaint alleges the app unlawfully collected children’s personal data, deceived users about who sent them messages, and tricked users into buying memberships.
On Sendit, users, who are mostly teenagers, send each other anonymous questions through integrations with platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat. This type of app has become more common over the years. Similar apps, including YOLO and LMK, were suspended on Snapchat in 2021 following a lawsuit connected to a child’s suicide. After that suspension, Sendit quickly gained 3.5 million downloads as users sought a replacement for the banned apps.
By the following year, reporting found that newer anonymous question apps, including Sendit and LMK, were misleading users with fake messages. They then offered in-app purchases to reveal the sender of those messages. This reporting was reflected in the FTC’s complaint, which stated that Sendit sent users fake and provocative messages. Examples of these messages included questions like “would you ever get with me?” or “have you done drugs?”.
If a user wanted to see who sent a message, they could spend $9.99 for a Diamond Membership. However, the FTC claims it was not clear this was a recurring weekly payment and not a one-time cost. When a user revealed the identity behind a message that was actually submitted by Sendit, they were given false information.
The FTC also accused Sendit of knowingly collecting data from users under the age of 13 without obtaining parental consent. This practice is illegal under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The FTC cited a specific instance from 2022 when over 116,000 users reported they were under 13. Sendit’s parent company, Iconic Hearts, did not notify parents that it had collected this data, nor did it ask for permission.
That same year, TechCrunch found Sendit users were complaining in App Store reviews. They stated the Sendit for Instagram app marketed itself as “Sendit Reveal,” an app that would reveal who sent anonymous messages, which solicited downloads.
When asked about these deceptive practices, Sendit founder Hunter Rice suggested reporters were looking for clickbait. He stated that there were many great and newsworthy things about what the company was doing and that he was only interested in talking about real news.
Sendit also sued a competitor named NGL in 2022, alleging it stole the idea of using fake anonymous questions and other trade secrets. NGL was later forced to end the practice of tricking its users in order to remain in the App Store following further reporting.